


Octopi specifically are extremely gay.

by Semphyst



Series: OASASG universe [2]
Category: Splatoon
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Awkward Dates, Awkwardness, Cuddling & Snuggling, Cute, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Everyone Is Gay, F/F, Falling In Love, Fluff, Gay, Grocery Shopping, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, Idiots in Love, Kissing, Kissing in the Rain, Lesbian Cephalopods (Splatoon), Long-Term Relationship(s), Mental Breakdown, Mental Health Issues, Mental Instability, Non-Sexual, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Salmon Run (Splatoon), Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Hatred, Sharing a Bed, Snacks & Snack Food, Splatfest (Splatoon), Spooning, Stargazing, Thunderstorms
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-21
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-18 19:40:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28872456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Semphyst/pseuds/Semphyst
Summary: It's just Eight x Marina filler shit, not related to story arcs. Of course, there will still be filler in the main fics, but if you've at least read the first fic and enjoy filler, here you go.
Relationships: Agent 3/Callie (Splatoon), Agent 4/Marie (Splatoon), Agent 8/Marina (Splatoon)
Series: OASASG universe [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2113824
Kudos: 2





	1. Starry skies and starry eyes

Eight dove for the inkrail in front of her, and made it just before the salmonids caught up to her. She swatted at the glowflies swarming around her head until they moved to someone else. "Hey, octofool, why did you send them onto me?" Marie's voice crackled through the walkie talkie on her belt. "Oh, be quiet." Four retorted, annoyed. "I can't use a splatterscope if you two are bickering so much. Eight, take out the salmonids after Marie with your carbon roller. There's a goldie over there." Eight jumped off the inkrail and swam as fast as she could toward where Marie was cowering at the top of a pole, occasionally taking swipes with her brush at the hoard of salmonids clawing at her feet. Eight's roller came down hard on the crazed fish, wiping out at least half of them in a single sweep. She pelted the goldie with a shower of purple ink until it exploded, sending golden eggs flying in different directions. Marie slid down the pole. "Thanks." She sighed, and picked up one of the slimy orbs with her gloves. Marina popped out of nowhere and took the other two, leaving Eight to find out who was being targeted. "Help me, you imbeciles!" Four's voice screeched through the radio. Eight guessed that she knew who the target was now.

The cool, refreshing feeling of water pouring down onto her skin sent a tingling sensation down Eight's spine as she rinsed off the soap that had previously been thoroughly lathered onto her body. She rubbed her scalp for a few moments, and turned the shower knob to be in the off position. She dried herself off, and stepped out of the shower to get dressed. She yawned as she pulled her pajamas on. Marina had gotten her a set to match her own, but in a magenta shade instead of a black one. The loose shirtdress slid over Eight's shoulders easily. It was light and soft, and overall gave the feeling of a comfy bed sheet. She opened the door to the bathroom, stepping into the carpeted hallway with bare feet. Once dinner was eaten, Eight went to play an old ukelele she had found in a dusty box in Marina's closet. She gently strummed and tuned the strings, their soft sound washing over Eight like a calm ocean. Eight didn't notice Marina standing in the doorway as she hummed some form of original improvisation she was creating. She spotted Marina in the doorway after a while, and jumped. "Hey, it's okay. It's just me." Marina came and sat down next to her. "I'm surprised this is still here. I didn't know where it went." She said. Eight assumed that she meant the instrument she held in her hands. Marina got up and flicked the switch to open the observatory, only to sit back down again afterwards. Eight put the ukelele back into the box. Warm arms wrapped around her shoulders and pulled her down onto her back. The stars tonight were beautiful. "I never told you, but I liked you even when we were both in the octarian army." Eight turned her head. "What?"

Marina's eyes seemed lost in the vast, dark sky. "You don't remember much about it, but I remember that terrible place. The only thing keeping my morale up was getting to see you. It was so cute, how you would always stumble over your words when apologising to your commander for being reckless so much. You were clumsy, too. You brought me lab equipment. You always worried so much about interrupting my work." Eight searched Marina's face, and saw a small smile. "Sometimes, I would see you looking for stars all the time. I think you heard it from your higher-ups. About stars. That's what made me love them so much. Marina rolled onto her side to look at Eight. "They reminded me of you, and the way you acted. Even now, you aren't afraid to show how you're feeling. That's what I saw in you. Not some lifeless soldier who only followed orders. I think, somewhere, There's a star inside of you. And that star is just as beautiful and vibrant as you." Marina gave Eight a quick kiss, and continued gazing at the stars. They went on in silence for hours, intertwined. Their eyes were filled to the brim with stardust. All of it was dedicated to loving the other.


	2. Exhaustion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I felt like writing angst. So I wrote angst.  
> Callie-Eight bonding time

Eight lay there, awake. The temperature had dropped again. It was snowing once more. She watched the ceiling fan above her rotate in the dark. She stared at nothing in particular, listening as the house creaked. She felt so small, being alone with her thoughts. Marina let out a soft sigh beside her, and snuggled up to Eight's side. At least someone was there with her. She was there for what felt like years, until the sun began to rise and birds started their initial morning chirping. She felt exhausted. Of course, only getting three hours of sleep can do that to you. She decided there wasn't really any purpose to staying there, so she got up and dressed into a turtleneck and sweatpants. Down the stairs she went, into the kitchen. Tea was poured and drunk, steam still slowly rising from the cup even after the tea wasn't in it anymore. Eight checked her phone. Four hours until Callie came over. The two of them planned to head to a café to chat about some personal topics. She sighed, and brought her knees up to her chin. She gazed out the window as the early morning sun slowly rose above the horizon. Snow was falling. It looked like the type of snow you would see on a postcard. Tick. Tick. Tick. The clock on the table behind her seemed to get louder. Hopefully Marina would be up for work soon. That way she would have company for an hour or two.

Callie gently knocked on the door, which opened soon after. "You ready to go?" She looked at Eight, sheepishly. "Yeah." Eight yawned, and stepped outside. After locking the door behind her, she and Callie set off towards the café. "Two hot chocolates, please." Callie slid a wad of cash across the counter. The cashier nodded, awed that THE Callie was there. "You go sit down, I'll wait here for our drinks." Eight said. Callie nodded, and sat down at a vacant table across the room against the window. A few moments later, Eight sat down across from her, cocoa in hand. Callie sipped hers. "Mm, that's good. This place has some of the best hot chocolate around." Eight stared at the drink in her hands. "Do you ever feel like you aren't good enough for the people around you?" She mumbled, her eyes darting around the room. Callie looked up at her. "Yeah. Often. Sometimes I wonder why Marie keeps me around. I have trouble making friends. That's why I can be so clingy." Eight let out a weak laugh. "It's fine. I completely understand how you feel. I always second-guess my friendship with Marie and Four. I just feel like I'm letting them down all the time." She sighed. "And I can't even begin to talk about how I feel about Marina. She's so... Amazing. She's pretty, she's nice, she's smart. I don't have any of those things. I don't know what she sees in me that makes me so worthwhile to her. I love her, and she loves me, but I don't feel like I deserve it." "Yeah. I honestly don't know if I'm a good fit for the squidbeak. I get that I'm in charge, but I don't act like it. Everyone expects me to be more mature about it, but that isn't me." Eight nodded in understanding. "That's reasonable. I don't really have any expectations, to tell you the truth. I always feel like I'm gonna screw it all up. I make so many mistakes. I don't know where to go anymore." Someone sneezed behind them. It sounded familiar, but Eight was too tired to care.

"I hate how I look. I hate my hands, my face, my arms. Everything. It just... doesn't feel like my body. These aren't my hands. They're someone else's." Callie chuckled. "Well, for one, you're actually pretty cute. Not in that way, of course. But that's familiar. I've had experiences with dysphoria before. I wish I could help with it." She laughed. "We're both just all over the place with how we're talking about things, huh?" Callie stared past Eight, a tired look in her eyes. "Yeah, I guess. Sometimes, I just want to fall asleep and never wake up. I don't want to deal with these feelings anymore. Very rarely, the thought will cross my mind that I could easily end it all." Callie's body tensed. "I don't know what to do..." Tears began dripping from Eight's cheeks. Callie squeezed Eight's hand. "I know how you feel. I really do. But if you do that, what good would it do you?" Callie sipped her drink. "It won't get you anywhere. Plus, do you have any idea how devastated we would be?" Eight looked Callie in the eyes. "But why? What makes me so special?" Callie stood Eight up, and wrapped her arms around her. "Everything."

Eight felt hot tears drip onto the back of her shirt. "And don't you ever forget it." Callie said to her. She embraced Callie in return. "You too." Eight pulled out of the hug, and sniffled. "We should probably finish our drinks." She laughed through sobs. "Yeah. I guess so." They sat back down. "The snow looks nice." Eight wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "Yeah. It does." The corners of her mouth twitched. Eight yawned. "Sorry, I didn't get much sleep." Callie chuckled. "Me neither. We should probably finish our drinks and go home to take a nap." Eight nodded, and gulped down the remainder of what was in her cup. "Thanks for listening." She gave a weak smile. "Thanks for sharing." Callie smiled back, her eyes glimmering. She stood up, the strap of her purse over her shoulder. "We should do this again sometime." She said. "Next Wednesday works for me." Callie took a deep breath. "Okay. See you then." The two of them went out the door, and went their separate ways. Marina sat at her table in shock. She finished her food, and went back to work to talk to Pearl about what she heard.


	3. Mending

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eight is feeling down, so Marina tries to help.  
> Part 2 of the previous chapter.

Eight gazed out the window with glossy eyes. She shivered, and wrapped her blanket tighter around herself. The cushioned windowsill in the living room was probably Eight's second favorite place in the whole house. Snow gently fell from the sky, fluttering further and further downward before hitting the ground. She sipped from a warm teacup, the steam rising in her peripheral vision. Two hours until Marina and Pearl got home. Normally, she would have something to do right now. She just wasn't feeling up to it today. Her hair was beginning to return to its normal slimy, tentacle-y feeling, instead of being wet from her bath an hour ago. A lone strand in front of her ear twitched. Her phone buzzed from inside her blanket wrap, bringing her back to reality. She dragged it out of her pocket, and eyed the caller ID. Four was calling her. She sighed, and picked up. She had nothing better to do, anyway. "Hey." She mumbled into the phone, half-heartedly. "Yeesh, you sound terrible. Are you okay?" Eight thought for a minute. "I'm fine, just tired." She lied. "What's up with you?" After yawning, she took a sip of her tea. "Well, nothing much. I'm playing chess with Three." Three's faint voice came from the other side of the phone. "More like losing at chess!" Eight chuckled. "Well, I'm glad you two are having a nice time. I gotta go. Say hi to Three for me." Eight hung up without another word. She placed her head in her hands, and let out a shaky sigh. She shouldn't have done that. "Why do I push everyone away?" She asked nobody in particular. Tears dripped from her cheeks as she sat there, cradling her cup in her hands. It felt like she was sitting there for years. It didn't matter, though. She had nowhere to go.

It was dark by the time Marina and Pearl got home. Marina took her usual shower and got into more comfortable clothes. Coming down the stairs in a bathrobe and slippers, she spotted Eight sleeping lightly on the windowsill. She planned on making supper, but it could wait. She sat down in front of Eight with her back against the wall, and attempted to doodle on a nearby notepad. She couldn't focus. What she had overheard was rattling around in her head, bouncing off the walls. It began to be a bit too much for her to handle when Eight stirred behind her. She somewhat relaxed her body. _"Deep breaths. Just breathe, Marina. It's gonna be alright."_ She reassured herself. Eight slowly sat up. Marina turned around to look at her. Eight's face looked exhausted. It's been looking exhausted for a while now. No matter how tired she looked, Eight's eyes would always glimmer every time they saw someone they like. When looking at Marina, they practically glowed. "Hey!" Marina beamed up at her. Eight's mouth curled a bit at the edges. "Hi." They made eye contact for a few moments, before Eight turned to gaze out of the window again at the cloudy evening sky. Though it may have been dark, there was still some light outside. It seemed to be the moon peering out from between the clouds. She felt Marina's heavy stare upon the back of her head, and did as much as she could to not turn around and burst into a crying mess. She took a shaky breath, and held it. Marina moved behind her, but she didn't know where she was going. "I'm gonna go work on dinner, okay? It's gonna be simple tonight." Footsteps faded from where Eight was sitting. She let out the breath she was holding. She slowly turned around. "Yo!" She came face to face with Pearl, and leapt out of her seat. "Stop being all sad n' junk! We're here to help you!" Eight looked down into her lap. "I don't want to waste your time with my problems." She mumbled, fidgeting with her hands. Pearl's eyebrows raised on her massive forehead. "You aren't wasting our time, ya dummy. We care about you." "Yeah, but-" "HEY! No buts! We. Care. About. You." Pearl poked her finger on Eight's head. "You. Aren't. Wasting. Our. Time." Eight swatted at Pearl's hand. "Now let's go help Marina make food!" Pearl attempted to motivate Eight to stand up. It seemed to work. She stood up, stretched, and dragged herself to the kitchen. "Oh, hey, Truffle! Here to help make supper?" Eight nodded sheepishly. "Thanks. Could you grate this ginger for me? We're having soup." Eight picked up the ginger and ran it across the studded ceramic surface of the ginger grater. The sharp sting of ginger hit her nose the second the root came into contact with the studs. Vigorously rubbing the ginger across the grater, she looked over her shoulder to see Marina pouring broth into a pot and putting it on the stove. Marina started peacefully humming. Eight zoned out, and stared at her. It was almost as if the whole world fell away.

Eight had gone completely blind. She could hardly focus on the world around her. Marina's soft humming was flooding her thoughts, drowning everything else out. The sharp aroma of ginger still lingered. "Oi!" Pearl's sharp voice sliced through the noise. "Ah! Huh?" Reality struck, and she regained focus. "Quit gawking at Marina, and gimme that knife over there. I've been asking for the past three minutes." Eight quickly averted her eyes from Marina, and grabbed the knife Pearl wanted off the counter. "Sorry, I've just been kind of out of it today." "No kidding..." Pearl grumbled. She finished grating the ginger and gave the ginger mush to Marina, who smiled at her. That smile almost made Eight melt.

Marina turned around and sighed. It really hurt her to see Eight feeling so low. She wasn't going to bring it up here, though. Pearl began cutting chives beside her. "I'm gonna go get some fresh air. I'll just be on the upstairs balcony if you need me." Eight mumbled, and the sound of her footsteps faded away and up the stairs. Marina stared out over the pond in the yard through the window, mindlessly stirring. "You two should talk after you eat." Pearl scraped the cut chives into the pan with the back of her knife. "Here. It's almost done, anyway. Why don't you go sit down?" Pearl gently took the ladle from Marina's hand, and escorted Marina to the table. "I'll go get Eight from upstairs. You just sit down." Pearl darted up the stairs to get Eight, who slowly dragged behind Pearl as she went back downstairs and into the dining room. "Go ahead and sit down, Eight. Food will be out in just a moment. About two minutes later, two large bowls were brought to the table by Pearl. "Dinner is served." She stood there, proudly. "Marina made most of it." Eight said, dryly. "I helped!" Pearl retorted. "Now, you two need some time alone together. I'm gonna go eat in my room." She returned to the kitchen, and came out a second later with her bowl of soup in her hands. She then carried the bowl to her room, and shut the door. Marina stared down into her murky bowl for a minute. "Truffle, I..." Eight looked up at her, and sipped soup from her spoon. "I overheard your conversation with Callie, and-" "Oh, that? Don't worry, it's all fine." Eight laughed nervously. "It's not fine," Marina said, sternly. "Because you aren't fine."

Eight tried to avert her eyes from Marina's concerned face. "Trust me, it's okay!" Marina took a shaky breath, and hung her head. "I just have some things to work through, that's-" Marina looked up, her eyes watery. "You don't need to prove anything to be with me!" She shouted. Her voice was quivering. Eight was taken aback. "But-" "No! I'm not gonna let you beat yourself up like this. I hate it. I hate letting you suffer in silence. I'm here for you! That's what a girlfriend is for, right?" She sniffed. "It doesn't matter how amazing you think I am. You need to think that about yourself, too." Marina stood up, and walked around the table. Eight's legs willed her to stand up. Marina pressed her against the wall. "And if you won't do it..." Marina's face got closer to Eight's. "I'll do it for you." They shared a soft but passionate kiss. Eight nearly exploded into a sensory overloading mess, but restrained herself. They held each other there for about twenty seconds, before slowly pulling away. Marina sniffled again, and rubbed the tears from Eight's cheeks with the back of her finger. "Besides," she shakily laughed. "I was the one who told you first, right?" Eight was puzzled. "It means I thought you were good enough for me. To tell you I loved you, I mean." She traced Eight's lips with her index finger. Marina backed away to go sit down, still emitting the occasional sniffle. Eight slowly sat back down, in shock. Marina blew on the soup in her spoon, despite it most likely having cooled down a significant amount. She put the spoonful in her mouth, and a gingery, oniony, delicious flavor began to overtake her taste buds. Eight shyly gazed down at the reflection in her bowl. The face she hated so much. The yellow-tinted liquid mirror of herself looked back at her. Her eyes slowly tipped upwards to look at Marina, not blatant enough for Marina to notice. She picked her spoon up off the surface of the table. "Hey, remember when you blacked out after fighting tartar, and woke up on the helicopter at sunset? And I was the only one still there? And you said I looked sad?" Marina said out of the blue."Well, when you were about to be ground to bits, you said something. You never finished. "Oh, uh... you heard that?" Marina giggled. "Yeah. And then Three showed up. I've still wondered what you were going to say." Eight sighed, and tipped the remaining liquid in the bowl into her mouth. "I, um... I was gonna tell you how I had a crush on you." Eight burrowed her face into her sleeves, embarrassed. Her tone became less exhausted and more of its usual sleepy. Eight never seemed to get enough sleep. Maybe that would change one day. Maybe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not posting in like, two weeks. Writer's block is a curse.


End file.
